Babar's Kingdom

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Created by Jean de Brunhoff between 1931 and 1937, Babar's Kingdom, also known in French as Le pays des Éléphants (Elephant Land), is a fictional country supposedly in Africa consisting of intelligent elephants, which are usually bipedal and civilized. As its name implies, it is ruled by its first civilized citizen, Babar himself. The political regime seems to be an absolute monarchy, but it is yet unknown whether it is hereditary or elective. The court consists of King Babar, Queen Celeste, Royal Princes and Princesses (Pom, Flora, Alexander and Isabelle) Pompadour (who wears an 18th century wig), and a Prime Minister, the old Cornelius, who also serves, as the occasion demands, as Secretary of Defense and a Minister of Foreign Affairs. There is no known Parliament nor legislative body.

The capital is Celesteville, which was built by Babar and named after his Queen. The name of the city is sometimes used for the country.

A neighboring country is Rhino Land, ruled by the (sometimes) tyrannical King Rataxes. The relations between Celesteville and Rhinoland had occasionally flared into war, though it is usually just a statement and peace is restored before much damage or casualties are suffered. The elephant army is under the direct command of King Babar (and likewise the rhino army is under the command of Rataxes). Some stories feature the two countries working together against common threats, such as when the area is infiltrated by poachers, and the two will help each other during times of need or crisis. In the television series, after working together to defend the region against a group of poachers (including the one who shot Babar's mother), the two countries, along with other nearby animal-controlled territories, form a "united jungle coalition", a concept similar to the United Nations, which prevents major conflicts between the animal countries thereafter. The militaries of the countries are considered simple and rely mostly on simple hand weaponry, such as spears and staffs. Guns are strictly forbidden by all the animals, due to their disgust with the poachers who would use the weapons. Not even Rataxes dares to think of arming his country with such things, after seeing their effects first-hand.

The countries do seem to have at least some trade and commerce with each other, as well as with other kingdoms and countries, both animal and human controlled.

[edit] Celesteville

Celesteville is the capital of Babar's Kingdom. The city is ruled by King Babar and named after his queen, Queen Celeste.

Celesteville is described differently in several places in the series. In the original incarnation, Babar built Celesteville after he returned from France, and began westernizing his kingdom. He named his new city Celesteville, after the female elephant he had fallen in love with. The city lies in the middle of a jungle plain, surrounded by mountains, and is connected to a nearby sea or ocean, and is a port city.

The second incarnation depicts Babar growing up in an already westernized country, with a capital already named Celesteville. This creates a rather interesting continuity paradox.

Like the rest of Babar's Kingdom, Celesteville is primarily populated by elephants. Minorities include monkeys, lions, crocodiles (referred to as "crocogators" in some instances), hippos and at least one human. Though they are minority populations, they are treated as equals with the elephants, and are given the same rights, liberties, and respects that the elephants have, and are fully incorporated into the elephant society.

Known citizens of Celesteville include:

• Alexander, Flora, and Pom - Babar's children. They are joined in later years by Isabelle
• Arthur - Babar's cousin
• Celeste - Babar's wife and the queen of the realm
• Cornelius - an elephant, he is the Prime Minister of the Kingdom. He wears a military uniform and seems to have the role of an entire cabinet , acting as a Minister of Defense and a Minister of Foreign Affairs, among other things.
• Madame(The Old Lady) - a lady that Babar befriended in France, and returned with him when he became king. She taught him many things, and was kind and caring, and in many ways became a surrogate mother of sorts to him.
• Samantha - Thought to be Celeste's friend, Celeste greets her right before her riding accident with Zephir. Celeste answers to Zephir, 'Did Not', Zephir answers back to her, 'Did Too'. and Celeste answers him back, 'Did Not Did Not Did Not!', and Zephir answers her back jealousy. 'Did Too Did Too Did Too!', and Boy Babar yelled at Celeste and Zephir's argument, 'HOLD IT!!!!' And Zephir said to him, 'You Don't Have To Yell'.
• Pompadour - an elephant that dresses in 18th century attire, including wig. He usually acts as a Chamberlain to Babar.
• Zephir - a monkey, and a personal friend of Babar

The population of Celesteville, and of the kingdom itself, seems to be very fond of Babar and he is believed to have an exceptionally high approval rating. He has devoted much time and energy to the citizens' concerns and well-being. There are no known challengers who wish to seek his position, and his benevolent nature and sense of justice, fairness, and compassion, are well known amongst his subjects.

There is no mayor of Celesteville. Babar and Cornelius seem to comprise the entire city government, as well as the entire federal government. Babar, despite having an entire country to run, seems to devote a large amount of time to governing Celesteville, which is shown to be only a fraction of the kingdom itself. Reasons for the amount of emphasis placed on Celesteville may be that Celesteville is, by far, the largest city and also appears to contain the vast majority of the kingdom's population. The rest of the land under Babar's rule seems to be mostly jungle and wilderness, with a few scattered villages and small towns. Though never specifically stated, it is believed that the kingdom has a population that ranges in the tens of thousands, if not more.

By Babar's decrees, a number of public institutions, schools, hospitals, parks, museums, libraries, an opera house, and other infrastructures have been built. The kingdom has a rail line, and Celesteville itself is connected to a large body of water (presumably a sea or ocean), making it a port city. Vehicle traffic is common in the kingdom, especially Celesteville, but most of the residents still seem to prefer to travel on foot or by bicycle, since many of the city's amenities seem to be fairly close to each other. The city is wired with electricity and phone service, which are commonplace, and there also appears to be a limited amount of radio and television services. Fresh water and sewage systems are also abundant. The kingdom has a policy of free press, and is serviced in large part by newspaper. Literacy and schooling is high, and it appears that nearly 100 percent of the population is educated. Crime, poverty, and the penal system are rarely featured in the series, and are presumed to be rare in Babar's Kingdom.

The kingdom also seems to have a harmonious existence with the surrounding environment, and large-scale cases of pollution or artificial ecological disasters do not occur, as the residents seem to have a great deal of respect for the ecosystems that they originally lived in.

Babar and his family, as well as his advisors and some royal staff, live in a large palace in the center of the city. The palace is the kingdom's largest structure, contains several stories, dozens of rooms, and a very large garden complex.

[edit] Analysis

The idea of an African going to a Western City and then returning home to pursue an aggressive policy of Westernisation is seen by some as the author's idealized view of colonization. The elephants' happy acceptance of their new culture and roles in society stands in marked contrast to much of the actual French colonial experience. Still, later in the series this aspect of Babar's Kingdom is played down. For instance, the rhinos also seem to have a Western culture, but no backstory is given of Rataxes also denying his native roots. In the movie, this idea was abandoned altogether, resulting in the rather glaring continuity paradox of Babar growing up in anthropomorphic Celesteville, then falling in love with Celeste and making her his queen.